


you need to calm down

by Drhair76



Series: And you understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars [5]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, I would be too, LET STEVE BE SOFT 2K20, Nancy Wheeler-Centric, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Jonathan Byers, Steve Harrington is a Sweetheart, also. she deserves better, i cannot say that i blame her, i hardly ever write her!, nancy is in LOVE with her boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:09:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22279942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drhair76/pseuds/Drhair76
Summary: It was nothing. Really, it was.There was no threat and she was safe, Mike was safe, Holly was safe, her parents were safe. No one was missing and everything was fine.Except, Nancy’s hands were trembling.or, Nancy's a bit freaked out but her boys won't let her go through it alone
Relationships: Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler
Series: And you understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1448032
Comments: 7
Kudos: 122





	you need to calm down

**Author's Note:**

> I'm here and I brought Nancy angst!

To some extent, Nancy knew that after all the stuff she’s been through, she’d be a bit jumpy. 

It was logical. She’d almost died multiple times because there were interdimensional monsters just casually lurking in her town. It’d be more worrisome if she _didn’t_ have some form of PTSD, no matter how slight. 

But damn. 

It was nothing. Really, it was. 

There was no threat and she was safe, Mike was safe, Holly was safe, her parents were safe. No one was missing and everything was _fine_. 

Except, Nancy’s hands were trembling. 

Her hands were trembling, and her chest was tight, and she felt like running a million miles away from Hawkins Indiana, finding a nice little field of grass and living the rest of her days there, safe from everything that Nancy shouldn't have seen. 

So, instead of feeling like that, she called Steve, then she called Jonathan and she told them, _hey, nothing’s wrong but I was wondering if you could come over right now? I mean, I know it’s eleven o’clock and I probably just woke you and nothing is wrong, but could you? If not, it's fine don’t worry about it._

And thankfully- because her boys were absolute angels- they merely asked if her bedroom window would be open an whether they should bring snacks. 

A little while later there was a groan and a hiss of- ” _That’s_ _my shoulder Byers-_ ” and Nancy hurried over to help Jonathan and Steve into the room.

Once they were both safe in her room- or as safe as they could be with monsters wiggling just underneath the surface of her town- Nancy pulled them in for a three-way group hug. 

It was a little awkward at first, mainly because Nancy took them by surprise and Steve was in the middle of rubbing a Jonathan shaped footprint off his navy blue hoodie and Jonathan was busy shooting guilty and apologetic looks at him, but eventually- like with everything they did- they made it work. Nancy ended up squished with Jonathan behind her and Steve in front of her and she sighed- a full body thing that made Steve’s arms tighten around her. 

“Nancy?” Jonathan asked quietly, sensing the shift. “Are you alright?” 

Nancy would’ve been fine just pressing her face further into Steve’s chest to hide from her problems but even Steve pulled back slightly to catch her eyes. 

“Yeah,” He scratched the back of his neck, looking a little confused. “Did something happen? Is everything okay?” 

Nancy sighed and moved away to sit on the edge of her bed. If she was going to have to talk about her feelings, she wasn’t going to do it standing up. Jonathan and Steve exchanged a look that she was pretty sure she wasn’t supposed to see and followed her lead. 

Again, she was in the middle while they both sat on either side, facing her. 

“Nothing’s wrong.” Nancy started, if only to see that little worried crease in Jonathan’s forehead disappear. “Everything’s fine.” 

Steve hummed a little and took her hand. He started rubbing gentle little circles and Nancy got that familiar choking feeling that she always did when she thought about her and Steve from before. 

Her favorite thing about Steve was and is that he’d always listen to her; no matter what she was talking about, no matter who she was talking about, no matter if it didn’t make any sense, he’d always sit and listen to her. Before they went to the party was the only time that Steve didn’t want to talk about it, but Nancy was shaking apart, she was flying to pieces and she needed someone to catch her-

Eventually it all worked out but Nancy didn’t like thinking about before. 

“I just- I don’t know.” Nancy continued, dipping her head slightly. “I guess I’m a little jumpy.” 

“That’s alright. It’s perfectly normal to be jumpy.” Jonathan intercepted. Nancy looked up to meet his eyes. 

She could see Jonathan comforting Will like this. She could see Will comforting Dustin like this. Hell, she’s seen Joyce comforting Hopper or El like this. Like it was second nature, like it was the thing they were born to do. 

“Yeah.” Steve shrugged, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Dustin, Robin and I keep each other up with midnight calls all the time simply because we don’t want to fall asleep alone. There’s nothing wrong with it.” 

Nancy sighed, feeling a bit small. "I guess. I just- I feel guilty for waking you." 

"Well you shouldn't." Steve said firmly. "How would you feel if I didn't call when I needed to hear your voice?" 

Nancy looked down at Steve's hand, which was still curled around hers comfortingly. "Mad." She whispered. Then she paused. "Sad. Not good." 

She hated it when she got like this. Not that she was particularly eloquent in her day-to-day life but she was definitely better than _this_. 

Jonathan and Steve didn't seem to mind. 

"Yeah, and the same goes for the two of us." Jonathan said.

He said it like it was the truth. Like there was nothing in the world that could dissuade him from believing it. Like it was something that he just _knew._

Steve nodded with the same amount of conviction and Nancy allowed herself a tiny shaky grin. 

"Alright. But you guys don't have to stay." She offered. Even as she said it, she tightened her hand around Steve's. "I mean, I'm alright now." 

Jonathan tilted his head but Steve made a face. 

"Wheeler, are you trying to get _rid_ of us?" He gasped. 

Nancy rolled her eyes. "Just you Harrington." 

Steve pouted, something completely overdramatic to let Nancy know that he knew she was joking. "Well, that's just too bad. Jonathan already stepped all over my shoulder-" 

"I said I was _sorry-"_

"-and I was planning to come get you two for a _secret_ date tomorrow morning and staying here would make it a million times easier but if you don't want to..."

Jonathan, while shaking his head at Steve's antics, was smiling fondly. "He has a point Nancy. Also, secret date?"

Steve shushed him, keeping his eyes on Nancy and Jonathan bit back a laugh. 

"Well, Nancy," He spoke up, a sly grin on his face. "He's right, it'd be polite." 

"You too Jonathan?" Nancy sighs, her lip tugging up a bit. Jonathan shrugged sheepishly.

"I did kind of step on Steve's shoulder." 

"So you admit it!" Steve yelped. 

"I never _denied_ it!" 

Nancy smiled, her chest lighter as she watched her boys bicker playfully as a way to calm her. Her experiences, while harrowing, have brought her closer to so many people- including her beautiful boys and she wouldn't trade them up for the world. 

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr @ starharrington76 <3


End file.
